One provision of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 states that when a tenant pays rent that is less than 5 percent of the appraised value of a property, the difference is considered taxable income for the employee. This provision is forcing colleges to reassess their employee housing policies. (MLW)

If faculty and other groups are to play a significant role in the budget process, the administration should format the budget to invite discussion. A properly prepared budget can serve as an excellent means of consensus building on campus. A new technique known as "framework" budgeting is described. (MLW)

In developing an endowment spending policy, the college or university governing board should seek both endowment protection and growth while providing reasonable current budgetary support. A sound policy should include built-in features that adjust to budgetary requirements, changing economic conditions, and the dynamic investment market…

To meet demand for increased funding, in a period of probable declining investment returns, colleges and universities must fine-tune their asset suballocations to enhance returns. While the institution should adhere to major asset allocation classes, there can be much flexibility, and enhanced return, in shifting suballocations within the major…

Issues in college divestiture of investments based on moral considerations, such as South Africa's apartheid system, are outlined. A governing board's options, role, and responsibility to the institution in the face of such decisions are discussed. (MSE)

One of the most important financial policy decisions a board of trustees must make is setting the rate of tuition. Escalating costs can be attributed to: preparing the budget based on projected expenses; external market focus; fee discounting; and trustees' complacence when large tuition increases are proposed. (MLW)

College administrators have an obligation to educate faculty and staff as consumers of retirement plan services. Employers can face liability if they limit plan participation to overly restrictive investment alternatives. A task force representing employees should be appointed to make vendor selections. (MSE)

In retirement planning, the college or university human resources manager is positioned as representative of both the college administration, which has a simple legal obligation to employees, and employees, who must plan for financial security and independence. This administrator can affect employees' financial well-being by effective retirement…

Successful college and university investments hinge on an asset allocation strategy capable of meeting the institution's needs for income and growth in principal at the lowest possible risk. Periodic adjustments must be made when there is a shift in the institution's risk tolerance, modification in need for income distribution, and changes in…

Trustees can set endowment spending policies to meet current spending needs and protect the future by understanding, forecasting, and managing potential risks and returns. Spending policy should be based on a combination of economic conditions and capital market characteristics related to the institution's investment portfolio. (Author/MSE)

Higher education faces many of the economic challenges of the corporate world. As financial pressures increase and the workforce changes, the campus human resource manager must understand these forces and actively promote change. Strategies include emphasis on training, cost reduction in operations, improved compensation, improved productivity,…

In excerpts from alumni magazines, the treasurers of Haverford College (Pennsylvania) and Wake Forest University (North Carolina) communicate issues involved in setting tuition and offer unique approaches to explaining the value that students receive at these private institutions. (MSE)

Complexity of employee compensation policy is examined as it applies to colleges and universities. It is argued that sound compensation policy helps the institution attract and retain qualified, skilled employees. New approaches that shift the focus from job to employee are outlined, and their implications for institutions of higher education are…

It is critical to institutional health that college clerical and administrative employees have a sense of participation in the institution. Personnel policy incorporating the principle of comparable worth in salary determination will become essential as nonfaculty employees note discrepancies between faculty and nonfaculty employment practices.…

The new financial environment for retirement emerging in the 1980s is marked by increased individual responsibility for financial well-being, a changed workforce, and the need to contain costs. The trend will be away from the group approach and toward cafeteria-style benefit programs, providing greater freedom of benefit choice. (MSE)